Phones 4 U, whose ad campaign is turning alarmingly Ted Rogers in its hand gestures (if you're too young, don't tell me), has exclusively landed the Samsung F210 Purple.
Since it's being heavily marketed as a music phone, Samsung has teamed up with Girls Aloud for the launch, offering the new phone with a limited edition Girls Aloud 1GB memory card loaded with the new track, "Sexy No No No!", videos, music and other exclusive bits and pieces. The phone itself is a slimline slice of technology with a 2 megapixel camera in this season's purple shade. More pictures of the phone over the jump.
Philips Swarovski Active Crystals price and availability confirmed
When we first featured these the Swarovski-encrusted gadgets on video, we realised you guys like them. You really like them. As such we thought we'd let you know that in the UK they're being lined up as Christmas 2007 stocking fillers, priced £49 - £99 ($100 - $200).
Heart Ware and Heart Beat are USB memory keys that are also sparkly pendants. Both have 1GB of storage space concealed inside the twinkly crystalline surface fashioned from polished silver metal and the famous crystals, dangling on a silver cord.
Wake up the neighbourhood with the Orb Speakers concept by Pieter Maes
Designer Pieter Maes is the man behind this rather odd speaker concept, design that looks sure to annoy every neighbour in your vicinity, and impress friends at the same time.
The numerous speaker cones are joined together in the centre of this football-esque piece of tech-art, allowing sound to be projected in every direction. Odd, really since sound waves tend to travel and bounce in every direction possible. Not surprisingly, this is only a prototype, and not one I anticipate going into production any time soon.
Heads up, Paris Hilton: sexy new Sidekicks coming soon
Good news for US-based Shiny readers - the new Sidekick LX and Sidekick Slide are making their way to your neighbourhood soon. The LX (above) bears a high-resolution Sharp LCD screen and both models come with the usual messaging features, 1.3 megapixel cameras, Bluetooth, music player, web browser and so on. And there are brand new, more muted colours as you can see; I wonder if they'll appeal so much to Jenna Jameson and Paris?
The LX also has a flash for the camera and will be available for current T-Mobile subscribers on 17th October. It's $299 for new users to sign up on 24th October - prepare to devote two years to it though. Equally, the Sidekick Slide will be on a two year contract from 7th November for $199. Another pic is after the jump so you can take a closer look at the keyboard.
Unlimited UK WiFi access for £3.99 a month from The Cloud
Finally, an advantage to living in the UK besides the Phil Collins Gorilla/Dairy Milk advert (you know what I'm talking about). We're going to be able to take full advantage of the WiFi capabilities of the new iPod Touch courtesy of a flat rate of £3.99 a month. It's mostly good news if you live in a city, since rural locations aren't often supported.
Access means the ability to watch YouTube videos, thanks to the dedicated YouTube button, internet browsing through the Safari browser and the ability to access and buy stuff from iTunes. If you're hanging out for the iPhone, you'll get the same unlimited access as part of your O2 tariff. In the meantime, you can sign up your Touch here and enter the MAC address of your Touch.
And if you haven't had the pleasure of the Phil Collins gorilla, click on over the jump.
Loewe BluTech Vision Blu-ray player available soon
This month will see European consumers getting their hands on Loewe's new Blu-ray player, which was announced at IFA earlier this year. The BluTech Vision player press release carries with it Loewe's commitment to Blu-ray as the "successor to DVD, providing optimal picture and sound quality".
Created by Stuttgart's Phoenix Design, the BluTech Vision plays back in Full HD with 1920 x 1080 resolution and so-called "24p" - that's 24 complete frames per second. There's also support for new audio formats to complete the home cinema picture (Dolby True HD or dts-HD if you were wondering). There's a decoder to support analog playback of 5.1 Dolby Digital sound too. And, for those of you who might be bored of acronyms and numbers, it comes in Chrome Silver and Anthracite.
If you see something strange going on today, don't panic. If all of a sudden, our 'Ps' turn to 'Qs' and everything goes black, don't raise the alarm. Today we're getting a redesign, and when we return we're going to be the prettiest site on the block. There'll be tag clouds, new colour schemes and a totally awesome video player.
In the meantime, we're going to carry on writing in the hope that we don't break the internet, so keep checking back for new stories, and hopefully in a few hours we'll be able to greet you with our new liposuctioned, face-lifted, Botox filled face.
Spice Girls tickets sell out online in 38 seconds: how to get your tickets
So, the Spice Girls tickets sold out in just 38 seconds. You can now get the worst seats in the house for 98 quid each here, although there's a 38 pound mystery charge (or a TSF charge. Nope, me neither). Or, you can splash out on eBay for some front block tickets - £350.00 with another 17 hours to go. But if you're not feeling quite so flush, we've got some other solutions for you:
- Swap network providers. Join O2. The concerts are at the O2 stadium in the UK, and chances are, they'll be putting on some special competitions for their customers.
- If that all seems a bit too easy, check out the sponsors of the tour. The O2 stadium is 99% corporate hospitality, and if you can get in with them, you can get into that concert.
- Swap careers. They're going to have a big crew, those Spice Girls. You've got just enough time to train as a make-up artist, roadie, macrobiotic chef or dog walker before the tour starts - and where else to watch it than by the side of the stage.
- Move countries. Tickets haven't been put on sale for all the tour dates yet, and there have been some added. Sort out your visa pronto, and get yourself to Heathrow. [Late night update: get online now - they've just released more dates for January].
First the Touch Dual, then the Shift... on a day when you'd think HTC would be resting on its laurels, it's released yet another phone, the S730.
Now, my adoration for the S710 (also known as one of the Orange SPV range) is well-documented through video reviews and Windows smartphone roundups, and the S730 takes all its redeeming features and adds a few more. The interface is all Touched up (forgive me) to resemble its touchscreen cousin, and with 3G, HSDPA, WiFI and Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity there's almost nowhere we won't be able to find you. You can complement the 256MB of onboard memory with microSD cards and, like the Touch Dual, it'll be available on Orange first from late October, with other networks getting their grubby mitts on it not long after.
More of the HTC-fest we started earlier with the HTC Touch Dual; this is one of the more exciting new additions. The HTC Shift has been much rumoured and virtually prodded and poked at in the blogosphere and the reality does look promising.
There's a full QWERTY keyboard which is comfortable to type on, being a fraction smaller than a laptop keyboard. Running on full Windows Vista (with hints that an XP downgrade will become available), the 7" touchscreen-packing UMPC has triband HSDPA for all the connectivity you could desire and WiFi to boot. Push email is complemented by "SnapVUE", a new HTC application which allows you to view a summary of your emails, calendar, texts, contacts and more with just one button push. The Shift weighs just 800g and is out at the end of October; the only price we heard today was 1,199 Euros.
Kat Hannaford has been a Shiny-on-the-move at the swanky HTC launch at Kensington Roof Gardens in London, where the smartphone company launched not one, but four new mobiles.
First up was the HTC Touch Dual, a follow up to the Touch which launched earlier this year. European users have bagged over 800,000 of the original touchscreen phone, so HTC expects this new model to carry on the good work. It's 3.5G and has HSDPA connectivity, plus a 2 megapixel camera and the now classic HTC slide-out keyboard with a choice of 12 or 20 keys. 256MB memory is included on board but there's a microSD card slot for expansion as well as Bluetooth 2.0 and touch-driven photo slideshow which sounds nothing like the iPhone whatsoever, honest guv. Orange have first dibs in late October with a £35 plan, with other networks getting in on the act weeks later. It's black, but an Arctic Silver colourway is heading this way within a few months.
More information and videos of the other models from the launch on the way...
tech air S-Series laptop bags allow you to keep an i-TRAK on your valuables
tech air's new S-Series bags come in sporty messenger and backpack styles which I personally prefer; they may not be as pretty as some we've seen but they also court less attention. However, should you be unlucky enough to lose your valuables, the bag has 12 months free i-TRAK subscription to help you increase the chances of a speedy recovery.
The tracking system tags each bag with a unique code which you activate when you buy the bag. A kind soul who finds (rather than steals!) the bag can report it to the website at which point you receive an alert by text, email and at your i-TRAK account. If you find this feature useful it can be renewed for a further charge. All styles of bag cost £59.99 ($120) and have a plethora of pockets and plenty of padding. Alliteration is thrown in for free by Shiny Shiny.
Hubs and memory have this in common: just when you think you've got enough of either, turns out you could use just that extra bit more. Connect up to seven devices with Brando's lightweight mini-tower. It includes as AC power adapter for those devices that are just a bit more demanding than all the rest.
Science Monday: '5 second rule not science fact' shocka
There is some science out there that seems so blindingly obvious that you wonder who exactly has funded it. The latest comes from the University of Wisconsin, who has revealed that the Five Second Rule is not in fact rooted in actual science. You know the rule - the one that means if you drop your food on the floor, it's perfectly acceptable to eat it if you pick it up within five seconds.
Now, I don't know about you, but I never really thought that my mother got that rule out of a science textbook. But there must be people that did, to necessitate this study... The scientists found that if food was dropped, germs were picked up instantaneously, although the chances of dropping it near a truly dangerous germ were slim in today's over-sanitized world. You're also pretty safe to retrieve food outside, as long as it didn't land in "a resevoir of infection" - in other words, dog poo. Next, they'll be telling us the moon isn't made of cheese.
The 'net hearts novelty USB drives: The turn of the iSquid
Yes, it's yet another 'novelty' USB flash drive. How much memory does one need? I can't help feeling this might be what the kids of today are collecting instead of erasers or Pogs (remember Pogs? Man they were useless and still managed to capture my heart).
This time it's the turn of the humble squid, or iSquid as this has been not so cleverly titled. Enough with the Apple takes, already! This 512MB memory stick looks rather creepy and also has jelly-like tentacles, just wrong. This is ludicrously over priced for it's capacity at $89.40, but if you must collect'em all...
iStone - stone age style iPod docks to 'rock' out to
If The Flintstones had ever had iPods, I'm pretty sure this is the dock they'd have used for them. I can just imagine Fred and Wilma arguing over whether to get the 'Wabi' or the 'Sabi' version, can't you? As for which one you should get: well, both "stones" weigh around 2.5 kg and support USB 2.0 and audio/video outputs, so the main difference between them seems to be the appearance. ('Wabi' is the paler stone, just in case you're wondering) Great if you're aiming for that "back to nature" look in your home, not so great if you don't speak Japanese, as that's what the website is written in.
Apple - warm and fuzzy feelings towards them, right? Hip? Cool? Approachable? All of those. What about evil? According to Brian Lam, editor of Gizmodo, Apple's latest move is "uncharacteristically evil".
It seems that anyone who has managed to get their iPhone unlocked from AT&T risks their phone freezing for good, and those who have downloaded third party apps have had those wiped off. All this has happened with Apple's latest iPhone update - useful for some, killer for others. And if you take your broken phone into an Apple store, you'll be met with a cold reception. Any tampering with the iPhone makes the warranty null and void. So, there's a warning there, people. Don't mess with the Apple. They'll eat you for breakfast (and charge you $399 for the pleasure).
Dorothy Perkins help Breast Cancer Care with lipgloss phone charms
The swathes of pink that are adorning the high street this October can only mean one thing: raising money for Breast Cancer Care. Dorothy Perkins is selling these tiny trinkets for just £2 and donating all the proceeds to the charity which provides vital support and information for UK breast cancer sufferers and their families. Available since last Thursday in stores, you can also pick one up online. So if you like pink lipgloss and think phone charms are dinky and cute you have no excuse not to help your fellow (wo)man while you indulge your passions.
Other special charity items will also be available this month, such as this Tchibo bag hook, so if this doesn't appeal you can still do your bit.
Go 3D retro with the ChilliChilly Seeing Double Clock
This unique wall adornment might look pretty confusing at first, but that's the clever part. I'm a big advocate of abandoning pound shop wallclocks in favour of one that transforms the usually mundane item into a talking point for anyone you have round for a cuppa.
The coloured discs on the clock hands serve to translate the numbers for you, in a very cool 3D glasses kind of way. The 16-inch Seeing Double clock doesn't try too hard either, meaning it will fit easily into any home decor, unlike many flash versions of ordinary household gadgets. It's available for $108.50 from Revive Home.
Sony's new Walkman - the NW-A910 series comes complete with TV tuner
First, the bad news: it's only available in Japan - or rather, it will only be available in Japan when it launches in mid-November. That small point aside, though, there's a lot of good news about Sony's NW-A910 series Walkman. There are three models in the series, and all of them come with a 1-seg digital TV tuner, which will allow them to receive broadcasts created for mobile devices. They're roughly the same size as a credit card, according to Sony, although they're significantly thicker than one, at 12.3mm. They have 2.4 inch screens and the 16GB model has the ability to record up to 100 hours of digital TV. Prices start at about £129 and go up to £196 for 16GBs. Only in Japan, though, folks, only in Japan...
Susi dons her Very Nice Beret to go all filmmaker for her latest review... something of a shame, then, that this £40 ($80) camcorder does almost exactly what you'd expect a £40 camcorder to do: not a lot. Still, if you're looking for something very simple and virtually discardable, you could do worse.
A few military juntas currently facing civil unrest could learn something from technology manufacturers: let the people decide! Case in point: the Infobar 2 started as a concept phone, but consumer demand made this dream a reality. Shapely rounded corners make the Infobar 2 seem like it will melt in your hand. But guess what? No melting because the Infobar 2 isn't plastic, but magnesium alloy. A 2.6-inch display screen is perfect for watching TV using the 1-SEG tuner that rests inside the phone. The Infobar 2's rounded out with a microSD card slot, a 2 megapixel camera and a battery charging dock. The people spoke and boy did KDDI (a Japanese mobile provider) listen. Eat your Western heart out with pictures located here. Maybe if we ask nicely Sanyo will hook up their UK and US markets? Pretty please, Sanyo-san?
Aptera Jetsons Spacecraft Electric / Hybrid Car available to pre-order for late 2008
Got $500 (£250) to spare and want an electric car? Why not put it down as a - fully refundable - deposit on an Aptera? Okay, so you'll need to shell out at least another $26,400 (£13,200) to complete the purchase, but you won't be seeing the completed car for another year, so you can get saving now.
It's a two-plus-one seater number, which can allegedly achieve top speeds of 95 mph and 0-60mph in 10 seconds. Safety and entertainment features include airbags, rear view camera, GPS and a media player, with solar-assisted climate control using the solar panels set into the roof.
Past meets present with Bush's touchscreen DAB radio. If you dig twiddlin' your radio knobs, you'll have to look elsewhere because this baby-grand, piano black DAB radio is smooth to the touch. The controls are on the top of the radio which leaves the front, with its 1950s-style Bush logo, undisturbed by such trivialities as station tuning. Store 10 DAB and 10 FM stations on this little number. Subtle enough to go back to the future with, but still look very fashion forward. Take that, Apple, with your touch-this, touch-that!
Love eco-gadgets? Want £250 worth? Check out the Big Green Switch
Our ethical pals at Hippyshopper have spied a competition that is bound to get techie types with a conscience sitting up and listening. In a bid to get more people switchen on (sorry) to the online campaign, Big Green Switch has got together with Natural Collection to give away £250 of gadgets such as wind-up radios, solar-powered lighting, solar chargers and plugs to avoid the dreaded standby energy wastage.
To try your luck, head over here and follow the instructions. Good luck, and if you receive something you'd like to see us cover on Shiny Shiny, drop us a line.
Not as rude as it sounds - The Vibro Exerciser from Carl Lewis
Long gone are the days when going for a quick run around the park felt like a real work out. I'm no gym junkie, but for those of you who adore working out then you might want to take some of that gym satisfaction home with you in the shape of the Vibro Exerciser from Carl Lewis.
The exerciser promises up to 70% more benefit than 'regular exercise'. How does it work? Well, apparently, The Vibro taps into your subconscious muscle responses by generating vibrations that are transferred from the Vibro's platform into the body. Muscles are forced to react up to 70% more than with normal exercise as you squat or lean onto the vibrating machine. As a result this powerful machine can build up muscle strength and performance, and enhance blood flow through the body. Quite an impressive claim at prices from £149.
Western Digital Passport: slim, elegant, portable storage
Western Digital has just announced some new colourful additions to the slim, light Passport range. These flat external drives have proved popular thanks to being extremely lightweight, plug and play, PC and Mac compatible and holding up to 250GB of whatever it is you want to back up - Western Digital points out that's 71,000 photos / 62,000 MP3s / 100 hours of DVD quality video. Now the plain black version is being complemented by new white, red and green drives. The green is a tad acid, but we're sure it'll go down well around the Shiny forums. $199.99 (£100) although there are 160GB and 120GB versions which are cheaper.
Tired of your everyday round dulcet GPS or Satnav tones? Get some Navtones Premium Voices, featuring the pipes of Mr. T, Gary Busey, Dennis Hopper, or Burt Reynolds - or do a "Mr. T + Dennis Hopper + Burt Reynolds" bundle and save 20%! Available in standard or 'funny', depending on whether you want your directions to rehab accompanied with a laugh track. I read the FAQ, but nowhere does it explain why I'm mentioning Mr. T, Gary Busey, Burt Reynolds and Dennis Hopper in the same sentence, unless they all go to the same dealer/hooker/midget fondue wrestling emporium. $13 each, or $30 for the package. [Camille]
You can be goth, or you can be girly, or you can be both, with the CRYSTAL SKULL
Designer Computer Mouse by PAT SAYS NOW. Studded with "precision-cut" Swarovski crystals, this unbelievably happy looking skull even sports a little green crown or possibly a poufy hat. 800 DPI sensor, USB, imported from Switzerland, where they make the best electronic skulls for modern-day pirates. [Camille]
When we 
Designer 
First the 
Hubs and memory have this in common: just when you think you've got enough of either, turns out you could use just that extra bit more. Connect up to seven devices with Brando's lightweight mini-tower. It includes as AC power adapter for those devices that are just a bit more demanding than all the rest. 
Yes, it's yet another 'novelty' USB flash drive. How much memory does one need? I can't help feeling this might be what the kids of today are collecting instead of erasers or Pogs (remember Pogs? Man they were useless and still managed to capture my heart).
The swathes of pink that are adorning the high street this October can only mean one thing: raising money for 
This unique wall adornment might look pretty confusing at first, but that's the clever part. I'm a big advocate of abandoning pound shop wallclocks in favour of one that transforms the usually mundane item into a talking point for anyone you have round for a cuppa.
First, the bad news: it's only available in Japan - or rather, it will only be available in Japan when it launches in mid-November. That small point aside, though, there's a lot of good news about Sony's NW-A910 series Walkman. There are three models in the series, and all of them come with a 1-seg digital TV tuner, which will allow them to receive broadcasts created for mobile devices. They're roughly the same size as a credit card, according to Sony, although they're significantly thicker than one, at 12.3mm. They have 2.4 inch screens and the 16GB model has the ability to record up to 100 hours of digital TV. Prices start at about £129 and go up to £196 for 16GBs. Only in Japan, though, folks, only in Japan...
A few military juntas currently facing 
Past meets present with Bush's touchscreen DAB radio. If you dig twiddlin' your radio knobs, you'll have to look elsewhere because this baby-grand, piano black DAB radio is smooth to the touch. The controls are on the top of the radio which leaves the front, with its 1950s-style Bush logo, undisturbed by such trivialities as station tuning. Store 10 DAB and 10 FM stations on this little number. Subtle enough to go back to the future with, but still look very fashion forward. Take that, Apple, with your touch-this, touch-that!
Our ethical pals at 
Long gone are the days when going for a quick run around the park felt like a real work out. I'm no gym junkie, but for those of you who adore working out then you might want to take some of that gym satisfaction home with you in the shape of the Vibro Exerciser from Carl Lewis.
Western Digital has just announced some new colourful additions to the slim, light Passport range. These flat external drives have proved popular thanks to being extremely lightweight, plug and play, PC and Mac compatible and holding up to 250GB of whatever it is you want to back up - Western Digital points out that's 71,000 photos / 62,000 MP3s / 100 hours of DVD quality video. Now the plain black version is being complemented by new white, red and green drives. The green is a tad acid, but we're sure it'll 
